The Wall Street Journal (11/3, Broughton, Subscription Publication) reported that small businesses are assessing the possible costs of complying with the Corporate Transparency Act and Illicit Cash Act, congressional proposals targeting the use of limited-liability companies. A Congressional Budget Office analysis of the House bill estimated that the requirement could result in up to 30 million beneficial-ownership filings per year. The NFIB has argued the bills raise privacy concerns and take time away from small businesses that could be used towards overseeing their operations.

The Wall Street Journal (10/22, Parker, Subscription Publication) reported the US House of Representatives passed the Corporate Transparency Act of 2019, which requires companies to disclose the identities of their owners in order to combat money laundering, bribery, and other crimes. The White House commended the bill in a statement released before the vote.

In a front-page article, the Wall Street Journal (10/18, A1, Timiraos, Subscription Publication) reported the Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates when officials meet in two weeks, even as they debate further cuts moving forward. In another article, the Wall Street Journal (10/18, Iosebashvili, Otani, Subscription Publication) attributed the stock market’s strong performance to the Fed’s actions to help maintain economic growth.

24/7 Wall Street (10/13, Ausick) reported on NFIB’s small business optimism index for September, noting that it “slipped from 103.1 in August to 101.8,” while showing “no sign of a recession.” NFIB President and CEO Juanita D. Duggan was quoted saying, “All indications are that owners are eager to do more, but they’re uncertain about what the future holds and can’t find workers to fill the jobs they have open,” while Chief Economist William Dunkelberg was quoted saying, “The persistence of unfilled job openings and reports of a deficiency of job applicants indicate that there is still substantial economic optimism about the economy on Main Street.”

NFIB New York state director Greg Biryla wrote in the Syracuse (NY) Post-Standard (10/8) that “it is highly questionable that” the Corporate Transparency Act “will do much to address global terrorism, trafficking or laundering operations, but it will certainly succeed in creating extensive and onerous new regulatory, reporting, and security burdens for hundreds of thousands of small business owners.” Biryla added that the measure “is a massive intrusion by government, and it would have a pronounced impact across Central New York. Nearly 80% of businesses in Central New York have fewer than 20 employees.”

The Washington Post (11/8, Stein) reported President Trump “has turned to the strength of the U.S. economy as a sign that he is likely to be reelected,” and “in late October...spoke with one of his top advisers after reading reports of election forecasting models that predict a win for him based on the economy’s performance.” According to the Post, “These projections – from Moody’s Analytics, Oxford, and Yale economist Ray Fair – gauge things like the unemployment rate and income growth to predict the election’s outcome,” and “three of the leading models show Trump winning easily in 2020.”

Politico (11/8, Emma) reported, “The House will pass a stopgap spending measure the week of Nov. 18, hoping to thwart a government shutdown later that week, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Friday.” He “did not say how long that next patch would last.” Hoyer, in a “Dear College” letter, wrote, “I remain hopeful that we can finish our work and fully fund the government before the end of the year.”

In an op-ed for USA Today (11/7), Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX), the ranking member on the House Ways and Means Committee, wrote that “the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act changed the trajectory of America’s economy, resulting in higher economic growth, larger paychecks, more jobs, less poverty and one of the most competitive economies in the world.” It has also resulted in tax revenues “at an all-time high.” The takeaway, according to Brady, was that “Washington doesn’t have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem.” He argued in favor of “more tax cuts” in order “to lock in the tax cuts and economic gains from the GOP tax cuts, and to keep America the most competitive economy in the world.” Brady concluded, “To ensure American families benefit the most from economic growth, Republicans and President Donald Trump will offer further, smart tax cuts and a pro-growth agenda, to contrast with the Democrats’ ‘Washington eats first’ tax increase agenda in 2020.”

Reuters (11/6, Dunsmuir) reported Chicago Fed President Charles Evans “said on Wednesday” that the US economy “is in a good place but the path of inflation will be important in deciding the future path of interest rates.” Evans, speaking to reporters after a Council of Foreign Relations (CFR) event in New York, said, “I definitely think the U.S. economy is in a good place right now. I think the U.S. consumer has been very strong...I think we’re in a good place, I think policy is in a good place. I think we’ve made a nice adjustment.” Evans also “said he would not mind another interest rate cut and has supported the central bank’s decision to lower borrowing costs three times this year.”

The AP (11/1, Boak, Sapra) reported the Labor Department on Friday announced “U.S. employers added a solid 128,000 jobs in October, a figure that was held down by a now-settled strike against General Motors,” and “the unemployment rate ticked up from 3.5% to 3.6%, still near a five-decade low,” while “average hourly wages rose a decent if less-than-robust 3% from a year ago.” The AP said the report “pointed to a still-sturdy job market that remains a vital source of strength for a U.S. economy that’s been weakened by trade wars and a global slowdown.” Reuters (11/1, Mutikani) reported “job growth slowed less than expected in October as the drag from a strike at General Motors was offset by gains elsewhere and hiring in the prior two months was stronger than previously estimated.” However, Reuters added, “Manufacturing’s struggles appear to have persisted.”

Small Business Trends (11/6) reported on “10 sources of small business loans” available for veterans, including the SBA Express Loan Program. The article noted, “One of the best things about this program is that you will receive a response to your request within just 36 hours! It is this quick turnaround time that has made the program vastly popular among veterans.” The article also highlighted Veterans Business Services, which “has tie-ups with national SBA 7a Lenders — loan providers with government guarantees from the U.S. Small Business Administration — and other respected financial intermediaries to provide a range of financing options to veterans across the United States.”

Retail Dive (11/6, Rowan) reported, “Amazon launched a program to offer in-person seminars, community college courses, and webinars to small businesses, according to a release emailed to Retail Dive.” The first Amazon Small Business Academy “event...was a seminar about best practices for growing online businesses, which took place in Southaven, Mississippi.” Included in the program is “a grant to the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) to go toward curriculum development and instruction for digital business courses in community college classrooms. Those courses will launch at six schools in February 2020.”

The Wall Street Journal (11/9, King, Subscription Publication) reported GoFundMe CEO Rob Solomon said small companies that are experiencing difficulty are increasingly utilizing the crowdfunding site. Thousands of small firms have launched campaigns throughout 19 nations.

In a piece for Forbes (11/3), Pamela Danziger wrote Small Business Saturday is Nov. 30 and is “independent retailers’ day to shine. Last year American Express, the event’s sponsor, reported that 104 million shoppers spent a record high of $17.8 billion that day. Nearly 60% of participating small business owners said that Small Business Saturday contributes significantly to their holiday sales each year.” She wrote the shopping holiday is needed, “since the other 364 days of the year are such a struggle,” including from the “Amazon scourge” and being “hammered by their suppliers, which give big retailers more favorable prices and terms.”

In a piece for Forbes (10/24), Jeff Fromm wrote that the Small Business Saturday initiative “celebrates its 10-year anniversary later this year. Small Business Saturday was a response to what many felt was the decline of doing business and shopping on Main Street USA, amidst the growth of online commerce.” He added that, according to the SBA, small businesses “account for over 99% of all businesses in the U.S., totaling over 30 million places of business around the country.”

The Hill (11/8, Hellmann) reported Joe Grogan, head of the White House’s Domestic Policy Council, on Friday described House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s bill to lower drug prices as “unworkable” and said the White House is “very supportive of the Grassley-Wyden compromise,” which he described as “the product of a really good, bipartisan, collaborate approach to solving drug pricing.” That bill, which “Grogan said he’s working [on] with Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.),” “ties Medicare drug prices to the rate of inflation while capping what seniors pay out-of-pocket for their prescriptions.”

The New York Times (11/6, Spivack) reported long-shuttered mills in New England “are being reborn not as manufacturing centers for textiles or machine tools, but as apartments, co-working centers, breweries, doctors’ offices and shops.” In many parts of New England, “repurposed mills and factories are bolstering long-struggling communities.” The buildings “have high ceilings, large windows and solid floors,” and “owners can also capitalize on prime locations.”

The New York Times (11/6, Spivack) reported long-shuttered mills in New England “are being reborn not as manufacturing centers for textiles or machine tools, but as apartments, co-working centers, breweries, doctors’ offices and shops.” In many parts of New England, “repurposed mills and factories are bolstering long-struggling communities.” The buildings “have high ceilings, large windows and solid floors,” and “owners can also capitalize on prime locations.”

The New York Times (11/3, Schwartz) reported labor unions and community groups have been successfully pushing for “minimum wages for specific occupations and industries” at the municipal level. Oakland has adopted “mandatory pay of up to $20 an hour for hotel workers in Oakland,” while Denver and Houston have mandated raises for airport workers. The Times said that “by keeping the focus on specific industries and occupations, organizers have largely been able to bypass the partisan divide over the national minimum wage.”

Fortune (10/30) reported that former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) is back in Washington, “this time with a foundation focusing on welfare policy funded with the $7 million leftover from his congressional war chest.” Ryan, “who in 2017 spearheaded the $1.5 trillion Republican tax cut, said that he had ‘begun convincing’ President Donald Trump to cut Medicare and other entitlement programs to pay down the national debt shortly before announcing his departure as Speaker of the House.” The stated focus of his new nonprofit, “the American Idea Foundation, to fight poverty and boost opportunity by promoting ‘evidence-based’ reforms on welfare, is likely in line with that ethos.”